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Things to do in Santa Catalina Island

Our most recommended things to do in Santa Catalina Island

Catalina Island: Private Guided Golf Cart Tour of Avalon

1. Catalina Island: Private Guided Golf Cart Tour of Avalon

Discover the culture, history, and lifestyle of Catalina Island on a guided tour of Avalon with a local guide. Make your way around the city in the comfort of a golf cart and see Avalon's most iconic sights. And feel free to bring your pet along for the ride on this pet-friendly private tour. Meet your guide at the arranged pickup location and hop into the golf cart to begin exploring. Stop at points of interest along the way, customizing this private experience to suit your preferences. Decide on which sights you most want to explore, from the Wrigley Memorial and Botanic Garden to Casino Point Dive Park. Wander around the Avalon Diving History Exhibit, or stop at different viewpoints along the way to take in the sweeping vistas and capture fantastic photos. As you make your way around Avalon, learn about the island and its landmarks from your local guide, who'll share the history and back stories of each location visited. At the end of your tour, your guide will drop you off at your hotel, or another location of your choosing in the city.

Newport Beach: Catalina Island Ferry Ticket

2. Newport Beach: Catalina Island Ferry Ticket

This is a roundtrip service, from Newport Beach to the Catalina Island's City of Avalon and back to Newport Beach. The transfer ferry ride from one place to the other takes about an hour and fifteen minutes one way. All of the vessels have multiple decks. Snacks and beverages, alcoholic and nonalcoholic, are available for purchase onboard, we accept cash/credit and contactless payments. We travel in the open ocean and can experience rough waters at any time. Catalina and Newport Beach both have many activities - great dining, water excursions, golf cart tours, and much more. You will need to book 2 separate one way trips to get a full round trip experience.

Santa Catalina Island: Nautilus Semi-Submarine Cruise

3. Santa Catalina Island: Nautilus Semi-Submarine Cruise

Join the captain and crew and set off on a 45-minute exploratory mission through Lover's Cove, a State Marine Conservation Area sanctuary. Traverse amazing undersea gardens and ocean habitats in a semi-submersible vessel designed after America's first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, on a trip that is both educational and entertaining. Let your imagination descend into the depths of the ocean as you explore the magic and wonder of undersea life on the Nautilus. Venture into the ocean and through the kelp forest in a state-of-the-art vessel. Learn about what you see with the crew and research team, and let them entertain you with their stories. As you learn and explore, interact with the fish through a specially designed feeding system. Launch fish food torpedoes right from your seat (at an additional cost) and instigate feeding frenzies right outside your personal porthole.

Los Angeles: Go City All-Inclusive Pass with 40+ Attractions

4. Los Angeles: Go City All-Inclusive Pass with 40+ Attractions

The Los Angeles All-Inclusive Pass by Go City gets you into over 40 top attractions in the city for one low price. Enjoy great savings on admission compared to buying individual tickets and pay nothing at the gate. Visit the Aquarium of the Pacific, Dolby Theatre, Madame Tussauds Hollywood, and many more of the best things to do in L.A., Hollywood, and beyond. In addition, when you buy a 3-, 5- or 7-day pass, you also get a ticket to Universal Studios Hollywood. You can take up to 2 weeks from when you first use the pass to use the remaining calendar days on your pass. The free digital guide helps you decide what to do, where to go, how to get there and how to make reservations in advance when required. Simply show your pass straight from your phone (or printed) at the gate or ticket office to get in. Activities, attractions, and tours included with the Los Angeles All-Inclusive Pass: Theme Parks • Universal Studios Hollywood Ticket (3+ day passes only) • Knott's Berry Farm • LEGOLAND California (choice between San Diego Zoo or LEGOLAND) • Knott's Soak City Water Park Outdoor Activities • Whale Watching in San Pedro or Long Beach • Catalina Flyer (Ferry to Catalina Island) • Harbor Breeze Whale Watching Tour - Long Beach • Perry's Beach Café and Rentals - Mountain Bike or Roller-Skates (All Day) • Hollywood Sign Tour • Celebrity Bike Tour by Bikes & Hikes LA (choice between self-guided or guided tour) • Whale Watch & Dolphin Tour - Beautiful Newport Beach • Harbor Cruise in Long Beach or San Pedro • Huntington Beach: 2-hr SUP board or kayak rental • Huntington Beach: Yoga on the beach Tours • Big Bus Los Angeles 1-Day Hop-on Hop-off Tour • Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood • Big Bus Celebrity Lifestyle and Homes Tour • Dolby Theater Guided Tour • Starline Tours: Malibu Celebrity Homes Tour • Downtown LA Food and Culture Tour • Glass Bottom Boat Eco Tour • SoFi Stadium Tour Family-Friendly • Madame Tussauds Hollywood • Aquarium of the Pacific • TCL Chinese Theater - Tour or Movie and a drink (choice between TCL Chinese Theater or Hollywood Museum) • Santa Monica Pier Aquarium • Los Angeles Zoo • California Science Center IMAX Movie • San Diego Zoo (choice between San Diego Zoo or LEGOLAND) Museums and Entertainment • Hollywood Museum (choice between TCL Chinese Theater or Hollywood Museum) • GRAMMY Museum • Battleship IOWA Museum • Natural History Museum • Autry Museum of the American West • Museum of Latin American Art • Cabrillo Maritime Museum • Richard Nixon Library • South Coast Shop & Dine Package

Pacific Coast Highway: Audio Tour Between LA & San Diego

5. Pacific Coast Highway: Audio Tour Between LA & San Diego

Connect your smartphone to your vehicle's stereo and make your drive come alive on this self-guided driving tour along the Pacific Coast Highway between Los Angeles and San Diego. Simply download your personal audio guide and tour to get started. Let your audio guide transform your scenic drive into a sight-seeing, fact-finding, trivia-answering, family-friendly adventure as you pass through and learn about some of the cities and small towns nestled along the coast. Along the tour, you’ll pass Oceanside, Carlsbad, Long Beach, Dana Point, San Onofre, San Clemente, and more. Your audio guide will point out must-see sights, parks, historical sites, tourist attractions, recreation areas, and more. Explore the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge, the Batiquitos Lagoon, and look for dolphins at Dana Point. Walk along some of the world’s most famous beaches. Other tour highlights include Las Flores Estancia, Crystal Cove State Park, Sunset Beach, Torrey Pines, and the San Elijo Lagoon. Feel free to visit as many sights and attractions as you want: you have complete freedom to take as much time as you like to complete the tour. As you drive, get a historical overview of the area, including its original inhabitants, the Tongva. Hear about Louis Zamperini, the RMS Queen Mary, the Rise of Long Beach, Huntington Beach Oil Fields, and Crystal Cove's 1930 era beach cottages. This tour works in either direction and you can stop anywhere while you discover this incredibly scenic and historic drive.

Avalon City: Sightseeing and History Tour with Audio App

6. Avalon City: Sightseeing and History Tour with Audio App

Take a self-guided GPS audio tour through the streets of Avalon with me. My name is Matthew and I am one of the 4000 residents of Avalon. Being a local I get asked a lot of questions. Do you live here full time? How expensive is it? What is that large house up on the hill? Why does everyone drive around in golf carts? How can you have a casino that doesn't allow gambling? Along with historians, authors, and other passionate locals, we will walk the streets of Avalon to answer these questions and more. You'll learn the stories behind our town and its famous landmarks from the people who live here. The tour is ready whenever you are and the audio plays automatically at exactly the right time and place using your smartphone's GPS and the VoiceMap mobile app, which also works offline.

Top sights in Santa Catalina Island

Frequently asked questions about Santa Catalina Island

What top attractions are a must-see in Santa Catalina Island?

The must-see attractions in Santa Catalina Island are:

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Other Sightseeing Options in Santa Catalina Island

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What people are saying about Santa Catalina Island

Overall rating

4.3 / 5

based on 314 reviews

Love the Go City pass, super easy to use and very worth it for the price and actives that we have access too! and the app as well as the website was very easy to operate to purchase the tickets. One last thing, i would like to give a shoutout to the individual i spoke to over the phone to assure me of how the tickets and passes worked.

The tour was excellent, very fun and informative. We had no idea what to expect but our guide "Leta?" has lived on the island for 33 years and probably knew more of the details and history of the island then we could have imagined or discovered on our own.

highly recommend, very cost effective and easy to use. obviously not the time to do everything. But still fits. on each trip abroad, we will take the passes.

It is absolutely value for money.You should visit many places in the day otherwise if you go only to once every day , don't buy it.

Very enjoyable . Sub needs to be cleaned better though.